Apparatus for pickling wire or strip stock



1962 o. RUTHNER 3,048,182

APPARATUS FOR PICKLING WIRE OR STRIP STOCK Filed April 21, 1958 FIG.1

FIG.2 /7

FIG.4 6

INVENTOR. OTHMER RUTHNER Patented Aug. 7, 1962 fire 3,048,182 APPARATUSFER PICKLING WERE R ST STQCK Othmar Ruthner, 12 Saimgasse, Vienna,Austria Filed Apr. 21, 1958, Ser. No. 729,892 Claims priority,application Austria Jan. 10, 1958 4 Claims. (Cl. 134--63) This inventionrelates to apparatus for pickling wire or strip stock, which apparatusis simple and inexpensive in construction, involves low maintenancecosts and enables a quick movement of the stock through the apparatuswhile ensuring an effective treatment.

The known apparatus for pickling wire or strip stock are expensive andcan often be operated only by specially skilled operators. In many casesthese apparatus can be economically operated only above a minimumcapacity, which cannot be achieved by smaller plants. Anotherdisadvantage of the known apparatus is the large space requirement.

It is a feature of the invention to provide an apparatus for picklingwire or strip stock, which apparatus comprises a towerlike structure,having a substantially acidresisting inside wall and having in itsinterior means for guiding the stock to be pickled up and down along awinding course and means for applying pickling acid to the stock to betreated, means being provided for pulling said stock through thetowerlike structure.

It is another feature of the invention that the tower is self-supportingand has a lining of acid-resisting bricks.

It is a further feature of the invention to provide photoelectric cellsin the pickling tower for controlling the speed at which the stock to bepickled is pulled through the tower, which photo-electric cells areresponsive to the brightness of the strip or wire surface bypassingthem. An illustrative embodiment of the pickling plant according to theinvention is diagrammatically shown in V the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the pickling plant;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view in elevation of the upper reversing device,and

FIGS. 3 and 4 are views respectively of two other embodiments of anupper reversing device.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, specifically to FIG. 1, thestrip or wire 2 to be treated is fed from a supply reel 1 by Way of aseries of subsequently arranged auxiliary devices such as straighteningrolls 2.0, a shear 21, a welder 22 and a cleaning plant 23 to the actualpickling plant 3. This has the form of a tower. Any existing tower ofany desired construction may be used for this purpose irrespective ofthe purpose for which it was used before. The tower may consist ofmetal, plastic or masonry and is lined with acid-resisting bricks on theinside. The tower is suitably gas-tight or substantially gas-tightlysealed towards the outside in order to enable the use of acid fumeswithin the tower. The cover 7' of the tower is desirably removable andhinged. It is obvious that other provisions may be made to enable anopening of the cover 7 or to provide access to the interior of the towerfrom the top. If the tower is gas-tight or substantially gas-tight thecover 7 of the tower 3 must also be gas-tight or substantiallygas-tight.

Guide rollers 4 are arranged at the inlet'and outlet of the tower andreversing rollers 5 are arranged between said guide rollers andcooperate with upper reversing roller 6 in such a mannre that thereversing rollers 5 and 6 guide the strip or wire up and down along awinding course. For the sake of simplicity only one upper and two lowerreversing rolls are shown in the drawing sothat the strip 2 or the wireforms only a single loop. It is obvious, however, that any desirednumber of such rollers may be arranged in series to guide the strip-orwire repeatedly up and down and thus to prolong its residence time inthe tower 3 or to enable a lower construction of the tower. Thefollowing description will refer only to one upper reversing roller 6and two lower ones 5. Where a larger number of reversing rollers areprovided the measures which will be described hereinafter may readily beapplied to the additional upper and lower reversing rollers,respectively.

To form the strip or wire loop at the beginning of the pickling process,the upper roller 6 may consist of two tapered half-rollers 6, 6", as isshown in FIG. 2. These half-rollers are laterally moved out of theiroperating position in the direction indicated by the arrows when thestrip is introduced at the beginning of the pickling operation. Thetaper of the rollers will enable an accurate guidance of the strip andprevent a lateral displacement of the strip during its movement throughthe tower. The half rollers 6', 6 may be provided with lateral deflectordiscs 36 for safety reasons.

A travelling crab 10 is arranged on a frame 9 over the tower and ismovable on rails. After the cover 7 has ben removed a gripper 30, a hoopor the like can be lowered from this travelling crab into the tower.With this construction the strip may be introduced at the beginning ofthe process by pulling the strip through in a horizontal direction belowthe lower reversing rollers 5, as is indicated in broken lines inFIG. 1. When the halfrollers 6, 6" are now laterally extended and thecover 7 is opened, the gripper 30 of the travelling crab 10, which haspreviously been moved over the desired point, may be lowered into thetower as far as to the strip. The gripper 34} holds suitably a carrier31, which is passed below the strip, as shown in broken lines in FIG. 1,after the gripper has been lowered. The gripper 30, which is suitablyformed as a tongs, then grips the carrier 31 and is subsequently pulledup by the traveling crab 10 until the halfrollers 6, 6" can be movedunder the strip, which forms a loop. At this time the travelling crab 10will stop the upward movement of the gripper, the half-rollers 6, 6" aremoved under the strip and finally the gripper 36 is lowered until thestrip will be supported by the half-rollers 6', 6" when the carrier 31is removed.

Another method of forming the strip or wire loops 26, which is rotatablein both directions and driven by a reversible motor 27. V

The vertical displacement of the reversing roller 6a serves mainly forpulling in the strip or wire at the. beginning of the process. For thisstep, the roller 6a is lowered below the lower reversing rollers 5 sothat the strip or wire can be pulled through between the rollers 5 in ahorizontal direction, as indicated by the broken line in FIG. 1, just asin the previously described operation. While the supply reel 1 isrunning continuously, the roller 6a is then lifted to guide the strip orwire in the form of a loop.

In order to reduce the weight of the upper reversing roller 6 it isdesirable to divideit into a plurality of rollers 6b smaller indiameter, which are arranged along an imaginary arc and carried by acommon support 37. This is shown in FIG. 4. This support together withthe rollers can be moved out of its operating position and can belowered, if desired, as has been described hereinbefore for thehalf-rollers 6', 6 and the roller 6a.

This construction affords the further advantage that the strip will beengaged only by narrow areas at the point of reversion so that thefriction is much lower than in a construction having integral rollers.It is obvious that the lower reversing rollers 5 may also be divided inlike manner into a plurality of rollers.

The pickling liquor, which is required for treating the strip or wire,is introduced in several levels by means of annular nozzles 11, whichspray the pickling liquor on the strip from all sides. The picklingliquor which is running down is collected in a collecting space 17 atthe bottom of the tower 3 and is recycled to the nozzles .11 through aregenerating plant, not shown, and the conduit 39 by means of the pump40. In the drawing the pump 4%) is shown directly connected to the space17, for the sake of simplicity. It is understood that fresh acid must beadded to compensate the consumption.

Photo-electric cells 41, 42, 43 are provided on various levels, in thepresent case in three tiers, in the tower 3. These photo-electric cellscontrol the speed at which the strip or wire moves through the tower independence on the brightness of the strip or wire bypassing thephotoelectric cells. The photo-electric cells are adjusted to benon-responsive to a predetermined brightness of the strip passing by; inthat case they will not actuate the control mechanism. The brightnessvalue to which the photoelectric cells are set decreases progressivelyfrom the lowermost tier to the uppermost one. Thus, the zero brightnessfor the cell 43 is higher than that for the cell 42 and that for thecell 42 is higher than that for the cell 41. If the strip is moving toofast through the tower so that it is not adequately pickled, itsbrightness will be lower than desired or prescribed. In this case thestrip surface bypassing the lower cell 43 has a brightness below thezero setting of that cell. As a result, the cell will influence thecontrol mechanism so that the latter reduces the speed at which thestrip is moving through the tower so that the strip will be exposed tothe action of the acid for a longer time. The regulation may be eifectedin such a manner that the impulse delivered by the photoelectric cellsvaries the speed of the drive means for the wind-up reel 13 and for thewind-off reel 1. If the strip is moving too slowly through the tower theuppermost photo-electric cell 41 will be bypassed by a strip surfacewhich is brighter than the adjusted zero brightness so that thephoto-electric cell 41 responds and causes an acceleration of the strip.In the first case an insufiicient pickling, in the second case anexcessive pickling, which would embrittle the material, is prevented.Instead of or in addition to a variation of the speeds of the two reels,an upward or downward movement of the upper reversing roller 6 may beemployed to control the passage time of the strip or wire. When theroller 6 is continuously raised, more stock will enter the tower at theguide roller 4 than leaves the tower at the outlet guide roller so thatthe strip or wire will remain longer in the tower. This will be reversedif the roller 6 is lowered to reduce the stay time of the strip or wirein the tower.

The last-described function of the roller 6 may also be used for storagepurposes. If the roller 6 is in an elevated position it may be slowlylowered to maintain the movement of the strip through the pickling plantin the case of an interruption in the feeding of the strip, e.g. if thestrip is to be welded in the welding plant 22. Overpickling could resultif the strip were to remain stationary in the tower during the weldingoperation unless the supply of liquid was interrupted. Even if thesupply of acid was interrupted the acid which adheres longer thannecessary to the strip would deteriorate the strip surface. When thenormal movement of the strip is resumed after the describedinterruption, a faster movement of the strip from the wind-01f reel canbe effected at the beginning while the roller 6 is raised to ensure thata length of strip is in reverse, as before the interruption, forunforeseen events. When the roller 6 has reached its upper position thespeed of the strip through the tower 3 is adjusted to normal.

Pans 5t? may be disposed below the lower reversing rollers 5 forcollecting the pickling acid running down, which will then wet the lowerbends of the strip. The pickling acid flows from these pans into thetank 17. It is desirable that the pans 50 with their fixing means can bemoved out of their operative position so that the strip to be pickledcan be freely pulled through below the rollers 5 at the beginning of theprocess.

After having left the tower 3 the strip or wire is moved through rinsingdevices 55, a drying plant 56 and a shear 57 to one of the two wind-upreels 13. The provision of two wind-up reels has the advantage that whenone reel is filled and the strip or wire has been cut the same can beimmediately passed on to the second reel without need for aninterruption of the movement of the strip or wire. Two wind-off reels 1may be provided for the same reason. In this case the second reel may beused as soon as the first reel has been emptied so that the operationcan be continued without interruption. In the meantime, a full reel canbe replaced for the empty one.

It is suitable to provide inspection windows 15 for watching thepickling operation in the side wall of the tower 3. On the side of thetower a cage 16, which can be moved like a lift, is provided for theoperator or for the person in charge of the maintenance of the tower.Manholes, not shown, for repair purposes also provided in the wall ofthe tower.

The tower may form a self-supporting structure and is suitably providedwith iron reinforcements. If the tower is gas-tight, warm to hot acidmay be used. The fumes which develop contribute to a high degree to thepickling so that the operation can be performed more intensively andquickly and with a much smaller consumption of acid than with the knownprocesses. The acid which is used consists preferably of I-lCl or H Thetower may be constructed as a gas chamber, in which the acid fumes areunder superatmospheric pressure to accelerate the pickling process.

The tower may have any desired height, e.g.,, meters. An entirely closedtower may also be used. The tower may have the form of a chimneyexisting chimneys may be used for this purpose.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for pickling wire and strip stock, comprising a verticallyelongated substantially gastight housing having an acid-resisting insidewall, upper and lower reversing rollers for guiding the stock to bepickled in a path vertically up and down through said housing, saidupper reversing roller being temporarily movable out of an operableposition in which the stock is engaged to an inoperable position out ofthe path of the stock, nozzles for spraying a pickling liquor on thestock, said housing being provided with entry and exit openings for thestock, said openings and said lower reversing rollers being so arrangedthat upon initial feeding of stock through the housing it extendseffectively horizontally therethrough, and means on said housing forpulling the effectively horizontally extending stock vertically withrespect to the housing to form a loop of sufiicient length, to reach theupper reversing roller to facilitate the threading of stock over theupper reversing roller.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said stock pulling meansincludes a crab movable on the upper portion of the housing, a gripperdepending from the crab and movable vertically with respect thereto, andsaid gripper including means for engaging the stock which has beeninitially fed through the housing for pulling the stock toward the crabto form a loop of sui'licient length to reach the upper reversingroller. 7

3. Apparatus for pickling wire and strip stock, comprising a verticallyelongated substantially gastight housing having an acid-resisting insidewall, upper and lower reversing rollers for guiding the stock to bepickled vertically up and down through said housing, nozzles forspraying a pickling liquor on the stock, said housing being providedwith entry and exit openings for the stock, said openings and said lowerreversing rollers being so arranged that upon initial feeding of stockthrough the housing it extends effectively horizontally therethrough,said upper reversing roller being mounted for selective verticalmovement between the upper portion of the housing and a lower positionbelow the plane of the stock when it is initially fed through thehousing, whereby said upper roller may be moved into its lower positionbefore initial feeding of stock through the housing and moved to itsupper position after such feeding to facilitate threading of the stockover said upper reversing roller.

4. Apparatus for pickling wire and strip stock, comprising a verticallyelongated, substantially gastight housing having an acid-resistinginside wall, upper and lower reversing rollers for guiding the stock tobe pickled vertically up and down through said housing and therebyforming at least one elongated loop in the stock, means on the housingfor initially gripping and drawing up the end of the stock to form theloop about said upper and lower reversing rollers, a cover on saidhousing forming a gastight seal with the housing when closed and whenopened permitting the introduction through the top of the housing ofsaid means, sets of vertically spaced nozzles for spraying a picklingliquor on the stock from all sides,

said nozzles being arranged throughout the length of the upwardly anddownwardly moving portions of the stock, said housing being providedwith openings in its lower portion through which the stock enters andleaves the housing thereby preventing the rising vapors of the picklingliquor from escaping, and means at the bottom of the housing forcollecting the pickling liquor which runs down along the stock and forrecycling the collected liquor through a regenerating plant to saidnozzles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,976,611 Gulliksen Oct. 9, 1934 2,018,648 Dinley Oct. 22, 19352,104,103 Ruthven Jan. 9, 1938 2,216,544 True et al. Oct. 1, 19402,292,511 Ferm Aug. 11, 1942 2,318,419 Plott May 4, 1943 2,366,949Woppman et al. Jan. 9, 1945 2,422,651 Ayers June 29, 1947 2,578,625Bowers et al Dec. 11, 1951 2,628,924 Johnson Feb. 17, 1953 2,649,099Hufi Aug. 18, 1953 2,650,599 Campbell Sept. 1, 1953 2,733,999 RodmanFeb. 7, 1956

